Location based asynchronous thread communications

Abstract

Communication by location method that geoplaces asynchronous message threads to a specific first geographic location geo-fence within which they are visible, and a second sub geo-fence for replies. This geopinning process may be done by remote users. The message threads have a first viewing distance parameter, a second reply parameter, and other parameters. Users with mobile devices such as GPS equipped smart phones may set their devices to discover message threads that are within a specified radius of the actual device itself, or a device virtual map location, allowing very distant threads to be viewed. However only users with a real geographic proximity to the thread within the specified reply distance may reply to the thread. The method will generally be implemented by software residing on mobile devices and host servers, and may additionally use data from map servers to place the treads in a map context.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention is in the field of location based communication, specifically as relating to geotagged asynchronous threaded conversations between multiple participants.[0003]2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART[0004]With the advent of global positioning satellites (GPS) and smart cellular phones, exemplified by the popular iPhone and Android devices, various methods of geotagging data have become popular.[0005]For example, Phillips et. al., in U.S. Pat. No. 7,848,765, taught a location based social network service in which users could define a geofence, pass the current location of a portable electronic device to an application server, and transmit instructions to the user to offer a service that is not offered when the user is outside of the geofence.[0006]By contrast, Oh, in U.S. patent application 2010 / 0056183, taught a method and system for providing location based communication services in which access to a real time ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0017]Although these various zones do not have to be circular, in the embodiments where they are circular, the net effect is not unlike a bull's eye, where the center of the bull's eye is the thread location, the first ring is the reply zone, and the largest ring is the viewing zone. Usually the diameter of rings (or to generalize, the shape and size of the zone) will be user adjustable by the creator of the thread, who usually will also post the first message. Note that the geographical location of the original thread posting does not necessarily have to be at the thread creator's user's present location, although it may be. Rather, a thread creator may decide to geolocate (i.e. “pin”) a thread to a remote location. In some embodiments, the thread creator will be given a unique privilege, not available to other thread users, of being able to view and post to his or her thread from any location.

[0019]Although this maximum communication thread viewing radius or zone will not enable users (other than the thread creator, who may have a distant viewing privilege) to see threads that have first communication thread viewing geographical zones that too far away from the user's present physical location, the user map viewing location and maximum communication thread viewing radius or zone about this map viewing location act to further filter the results so that the user and the system is not having to handle too many threads from areas that are not of interest to the user.

Problems solved by technology

In spite of these advances, and in spite of the popularity of smart phones and other devices equipped with various types of location determining means, including location by triangulation between different cell phone towers, and GPS methods, geotagged based communication methods are still not widely used.

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